Photo of Chicken sauté with pine nuts by WW

Chicken sauté with pine nuts

3
Points®
Total Time
25 min
Prep
13 min
Cook
12 min
Serves
4
Difficulty
Moderate
Beautifully browned on the outside and perfectly juicy on the inside, this is the ideal way to cook chicken. First, we coat chicken breasts in a flour mixture and sear them in hot skillet, then they’re transferred to sheet pan and baked in the oven to finish cooking. Meanwhile, the vegetables cook in the same skillet that the chicken was seared in to take advantage of tasty tidbits left behind. We used fresh tarragon here, but fresh basil or thyme would also be delicious. Serve over cooked brown rice or a short-shaped pasta like orzo to capture the flavorful pan sauce.

Ingredients

All-purpose flour

2 Tbsp

Table salt

½ tsp

Black pepper

¼ tsp

Uncooked boneless skinless chicken breast

1 pound(s), four 4-oz pieces

Olive oil

2 tsp

Pine nuts

1 oz, about 4 tsp

Asparagus

1 pound(s), thin

Shallot

2 medium, chopped

Garlic

2 clove(s), minced

Fresh tarragon

2 Tbsp, chopped

Fat free chicken broth

1 cup(s), reduced-sodium

Black pepper

tsp, or to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
  2. In a flat dish or plate, stir together flour, salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour, coating both sides and patting off excess.
  3. In a large, nonstick skillet, warm olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken and sauté; on both sides until nicely browned. Transfer chicken to a baking sheet and place in oven until cooked through, about 8 minutes.
  4. While chicken is baking, make asparagus and pine nut topping: Reduce heat to medium and add pine nuts to pan. Sauté; until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add asparagus, shallots and garlic; sauté; until tender, about 4 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
  5. Add tarragon and chicken broth to pan and boil until broth is reduced by half. Return vegetables to pan, season with pepper and stir to heat.
  6. Set each breast on a plate and top with asparagus mixture. Serve immediately.